Approximately 85 per cent of the boys and slightly
less than 60 per cent of the girls between the ages
of 16 and 21 are at work. In the next age group—­21
to 45—­given by the census, 98 per cent of
the men are at work, but the proportion of women employed
in gainful occupations drops to 26 per cent, or about
one in four; in the next age group—­45 and
over—­it falls to about 12 per cent, as compared
with 85 per cent of the men. Of the women still
at work in the older age group, over one-half are
engaged in domestic and personal service as servants,
laundresses, housekeepers, etc.

TABLE 14.—­NUMBER EMPLOYED IN THE PRINCIPAL WAGE-EARNING OCCUPATIONS
AMONG EACH 1,000 WOMEN FROM 16 TO 21 YEARS OF AGE